Kevin O'Connell (born April 29, 1967) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver. He last competed part-time in the

2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series file:Erik Jones 2017 NASCAR Media Tour.jpg, Erik Jones, the 2017 NASCAR Rookie of the Year file:Martin Truex Jr. Sonoma 2017.jpg, Toyota won their second manufacturer's championship with 16 wins and 1292 points. The 2017 Monster Energy N ...

, driving the No. 15

Chevrolet SS The Holden Commodore (VF) is a full-size car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufac ...

for Premium Motorsports.

Racing career

O'Connell ran in the

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

in 2006 for O'Connell Racing in the

6 Hours of Watkins Glen The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...

. O'Connell also ran two races in the 2012 season with

Rick Ware Racing Rick Ware Racing (RWR) is an American motorsports team which currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, American Flat Track, and National Hot Rod Association, NHRA. History The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing with R ...

Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...

and

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

. From 2007 to 2008, O'Connell ran four races in the

K&N Pro Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series, NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series ow ...

, with a best finish of 15th at

Infineon Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...

in 2007. In 2013, O'Connell entered the

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series The NASCAR Euro Series (formerly known as Racecar Euro Series, Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series, and NASCAR Whelen Euro Series) is an official NASCAR stock-car racing series based in Europe. It is one of NASCAR's four international-sanctioned s ...

race at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

, becoming the first American to race in the series on a road course. In 2008, O'Connell made his

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

debut at

Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a motorsport race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named after the racing drivers Ricardo Rodríguez (1942–1962) and Pedro Rodríguez (1940–1971). The circuit got its current name in 1979 after Ricardo ...

in the No. 09 Chevrolet for O'Connell Racing, with his Rolex pit crew also servicing his NASCAR team, and Rolex teammate Kevin Roush serving as spotter. After starting 34th, O'Connell was involved in a crash with

David Reutimann Emil David Reutimann (born March 2, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Camping World ...

in turn 7 on lap 36, finishing 37th. In 2010, O'Connell joined

Curb Racing Curb Racing is a former NASCAR team competing mainly in the Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series from 1984 to 2011. The team was owned by Mike Curb, CEO of Curb Records and 45th Lieutenant Governor of California. Curb also had numerous busine ...

in the No. 43 at Road America, finishing 34th after suffering an engine failure. On June 21, 2014, it was announced that O'Connell would run in the Nationwide races at Road America and

Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track in the Northeastern United States, northeastern United States, located in Dix, New York, just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, Watkins Glen, at the ...

in the No. 23 for Rick Ware Racing. At Road America, after qualifying 26th with a lap speed of , O'Connell finished third. In 2015, O'Connell drove the No. 13

Dodge Challenger The Dodge Challenger is the name of three generations of automobiles produced by the American automobile manufacturer Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge dates back to 1959 for marketing a "value version" of the full- ...

for MBM Motorsports at Watkins Glen. In 2017, it was announced that O'Connell would make his

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

debut for

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...

that summer. However, after the report came out

Josh Bilicki Joshua Michael Bilicki (born June 3, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation), Chevrolet SS for DGM Racing with Jesse Iwuj ...

said that he would drive the Sonoma race for the team. Instead, O'Connell drove the No. 15 for Premium Motorsports; after starting 36th, he finished 33rd.

Personal life

O'Connell is the first driver in NASCAR's top three series (Cup, Xfinity,

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series i ...

) to receive his master's degree.

Images

File:Kevin OConnell 2014 Gardner Denver 200 at Road America.jpg File:Road America 2013 Nationwide 74 Kevin O'Connell.jpg, O'Connell's 74 at Road America in 2013 File:23 Kevin OConnell passenger side NASCAR Nationwide 2014 Gardner Denver 200 at Road America.jpg, O'Connell's 23 at Road America in 2014 File:23 Kevin OConnell drivers side NASCAR Nationwide 2014 Gardner Denver 200 at Road America.jpg, O'Connell's 23 at Road America in 2014 File:Kevin O'Connell Sonoma 2017.jpg, O'Connell's No. 15 during the 2017 Toyota/Save Mart 350

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Monster Energy Cup Series

Xfinity Series

K&N Pro Series East

K&N Pro Series West

Canadian Tire Series

Mexico Series

Whelen Euro Series - Elite 1

Whelen Euro Series - Elite 2

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OConnell, Kevin Living people 1967 births Sportspeople from Newport Beach, California Racing drivers from California NASCAR drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers